Harmony Is Added In (Canadian Style)
by yellow blaze
Summary: HumanAU Part 3 in Life with Lyrics series! With more confidence than he had last year (and probably for the entirety of his life up until now) Matthew is one of the only ones in his circle of friends that is actually looking forward to their last year in high school. Looking to rebuild the relationship that fell apart last year with Cruz, and hopes are high! Rated T for language
1. Shopping and talking with Roma

OKAY PEOPLE. This is the LAST one. Seriously now. =_= (most) Every single review I read was something along the lines of "that wasn't seriously the end. What happened with Gilbert?" Or something along those lines. SO. Here we go. One more time. I will do my best to not almost-kill anyone this time around. *cough cough*

_Narrator (also known as Author): Much like how the last one began with the start of the junior year, we fast-forward to the senior year. Last year was getting a bit chaotic to add anything to. I will try to do better with teachers this time around. XD Allistor and Reilly, for those wondering, are no longer in high school (obviously, since they were older than Arthur). They are, however, still living at home, so you will see them now and then. :) The last story ended around the end of November, so we're about eight months into the future. Anything that happened last year that might not have been covered (more than likely due to me forgetting to add it) will be added as a memory, which you will see in text just like this Narrator comment. I'll try not to do an entire chapter in italics again though. That was a little hard on the eyes. =.= Oh and also, as with Life with Lyrics, this has four parts to it. :) I enjoyed writing those more than I enjoyed writing the single one. And this way I can focus more on each individual couple, yes? :) Anyone with a question about something that may have happened in either of the fanfics preceding this one is free to ask in a review! Also, keep in mind that if you leave a review as Anonymous, I cannot respond to you no matter how many questions you ask. :)_

.

.

**Adding Harmony to the Music and Lyrics of Life** (A.N: That title is just getting longer)

Matthew leaned back and forth, head tilted slightly while he stared at the shelf. Why were there so many different kinds of syrup? He turned his head to look further down the shelf. _'Sugar free…butter flavored…original… why do there have to be so many?'_ Matthew sighed and finally picked a random one off the shelf, dropping it in his basket before moving down the aisle. "Alfred wanted cereal…eh. Which one does he get?" Matthew paled at the size of the cereal selection, "Why is it always so hard to choose one?!"

He walked up and down the aisle several times before grabbing a random box near the end of the aisle, "I give up." Matthew moved towards the checkout, glancing at the shopping list he had to make sure he hadn't forgotten something. Normally he would have just texted Alfred to find out what cereal he wanted, but Alfred was taking his driver's test at the moment (or he should be at any rate) so Matthew didn't want to risk sending a message. "I think that's everything…" He moved to the end of the line that snaked up to the only open register and let out a long sigh. "They should really have more than one open…"

"You really think they would on a Sunday."

Matthew blinked, before realizing the person he was standing behind was Roma, "Oh. Hello."

"Afternoon~" Roma smiled cheerfully, "I seem to keep running into you here!"

"Yeah. Every week now." Matthew blinked, "Do we just go shopping on the same days?"

"I guess. If Alexander would actually remember to put everything on the shopping list the night before, I wouldn't be stuck waiting in line." Roma sighed, "How is he so forgetful?"

"I wouldn't have the faintest idea." Matthew refrained from commenting that Roma could be pretty forgetful himself, "…Is this line moving at all?" He leaned to the left to peer around the adult.

"It doesn't seem like it is." Roma commented.

Matthew felt rather sorry for the cashier (who seemed pretty annoyed with whatever customer she currently had at the register), "I wonder where all the other cashiers are…isn't there a member of management or something that can open a register?"

"He's probably hiding." Roma shifted the basket he was holding from one hand to the other.

"Oh, that's right, are you going to be a counselor at the school again this year?" Matthew redirected his attention towards Roma.

"I was planning on it." Roma smiled, "Last year was fun! Hopefully you won't need to come down this year though."

"Hopefully not, but you never know." Matthew sighed, "I still haven't opened my schedule yet."

Roma blinked in surprise, "Really? You should do that, I think there was a notice at the top of it for something. At least that's what Lovino was muttering about last night."

"Oh! I'll read it when I get home then!" Matthew pulled out his cell phone, glancing at the time before pocketing it again.

"Ah, we're moving now." Roma smiled and moved a couple steps forward.

"Yeah, because someone gave up." Matthew watched the customer stalk out the door, leaving his basket at the end of the register.

"…Well…I suppose if some people have other things to be doing…" Roma laughed nervously, "But we do need the groceries for dinner tonight…"

Matthew sighed, "And Alfred will get upset if I don't bring his cereal home… I need syrup for tomorrow's breakfast, too…" He leaned around again to see what the cashier was doing now. At least she was on the next customer.

Roma tapped his foot on the floor for a minute before glancing at his watch, "Hm…they're going to be wondering what's taking me so long soon…"

"I was the only one at home, so no one's going to be wondering about me." Matthew straightened up again, "Though I wonder if Alfred's done with the driver's exam yet…"

"Was he taking that this morning? That's exciting. Lovino hasn't even attempted yet. He said something about Antonio's driving having scarred him for life." Roma laughed.

"I didn't even know Antonio had his license!" Matthew exclaimed, "I got mine a month ago."

"Oh, I don't think Antonio has one. I think that was the problem." Roma moved a little further up in line as the person in front of him moved.

"…Driving with a permit…" Matthew whispered.

"Yeah. His mom was along though, so no worries about that." Roma smiled, "Lovino just did not like the driving at all."

"I wonder how bad it was…" Matthew tilted his head, "Maybe I should ask Cruz…"

"I'm rather curious as well, but at the same time, I don't think I want to know." Roma sighed.

Matthew blinked when a ringtone started going off and glanced around in confusion, "Eh?"

"Oh. Hello." Roma blinked and set the basket down so he could take out his phone, "Hello? Lovi~ …Tell your forgetful parents I'm still standing in line, where I've been for the past fifteen minutes now."

Matthew burst into fits of giggles.

Roma waited a minute before hearing the person on the other end giving an audible sigh, "Are your parents arguing again?"

Matthew tilted his head, leaning to one side to see if the line was moving at all yet. Next customer was up…_finally_.

"I'll be home shortly. If someone hadn't forgotten to add the spaghetti sauce to the grocery list, I wouldn't be standing in this line right now!" Roma picked up the basket again as they shuffled forward.

"Now we're moving along…" Matthew sighed in relief.

"Finally." Roma agreed to what Matthew had said and tilted his head at Lovino on the other end, "Oh, okay! No worries. If they're still arguing I'll just throw the bag at someone."

Matthew looked at Roma in confusion and shock, "You're not really going to…"

"It was a joke, a joke." Roma waved a hand at Matthew, "Calm down, Lovi~"

Matthew shook his head.

.

.

First chapter is done! :D Hopefully that phone conversation came out okay.


	2. Alfred just answer already!

Ahaha, so one person mentioned some confusion with the phone conversation, but I'm glad reading both cleared it up. xD

(Chapter was edited 4/14)

* * *

.

.

Matthew set the bag down on the counter and waited for a minute. The echo of silence was the only thing to greet his return. "Alfred's still not home…" He peered into the living room just to make sure the normally loud blonde wasn't just laying face-down on the couch. Room was empty.

"Eh." Matthew returned to the bag on the counter and started putting the groceries away, one thing at a time, glancing out the front window now and then to see if a car was approaching. "I wonder what's taking him so long…maybe he's texting people in celebration…" Matthew tilted his head then shook it again. "He would have sent me a message…at least I think he would."

Matthew promptly hit himself with the box he was holding, "Stop feelings of doubt! Leave me alone!" He put the (slightly dented) box in the cupboard and shuffled determinedly out of the kitchen, "He would text me if he passed. He would. Cruz is probably having supper right now… so I can't message him…" Matthew paused in front of his laptop that was in the living room but kept going past it. "I doubt anyone will be on right now… it's a rather awkward time in the evening… if somebody is online it means something happened with supper… which means Lovino will probably be on."

Matthew returned to the computer and plopped on the couch, waiting until the instant message screen appeared, and sure enough, Lovino was online. "It's Sunday…" Matthew sighed.

**Lovino: Sup.**

**DeterminedMatthew: Not much. Usual Sunday?**

**Lovino: Of course.**

**DeterminedMatthew: Did he leave the house again?**

**Lovino: Yeah.**

**DeterminedMatthew: oh man…**

**Lovino: And my door is barred shut. Dad might be able to break a door and knock a chair over but I seriously doubt he can do the same with a door and a desk.**

**DeterminedMatthew: Well it's worth a shot…**

**Lovino: And maybe he'll get the hint to go after grandpa.**

**DeterminedMatthew: Hopefully. Do they just not get along?**

**Lovino: Oh they get along fine. But dad forgets something every **** time he's at the store. I don't know how he does it. It's like he's doing it on purpose.**

**DeterminedMatthew: hmm… does he do something while your grandpa's not home maybe?**

**Lovino: Not that I'm aware of. He's always in his study on Sundays. :I**

**DeterminedMatthew: Well so much for that idea… uhm…**

**Lovino: Yeah I'm doing just **** peachy. I'm stressing out about grandpa, something is up with Antonio and he won't say what, this is ridiculous.**

**DeterminedMatthew: Antonio?**

**Lovino: He cries a lot.**

**DeterminedMatthew: Eh…I think that's because of Cruz… someone who likes hugging and someone who…doesn't living under one roof would be rather conflicting…**

**Lovino: Yeah but is it really just about hugging? That just sounds stupid. Why would you cry over a lack of hugs? Get one from your parents!**

**DeterminedMatthew: Um…I don't really hug my parents all that much…**

**Lovino: Obviously I don't either. I think I hug grandpa more.**

**DeterminedMatthew: Back to square one…**

**Lovino: Nah. More like square five or six.**

**DeterminedMatthew: And still no luck in finding out anything from Alfred…**

**Lovino: More power to you. I don't know how you keep bring up the subject without him getting suspicious.**

**DeterminedMatthew: How hard is it to find out from a brother if he likes someone or not?!**

**Lovino: Mine is pretty obvious about it. -_-**

**DeterminedMatthew: Yeah… I know. But mine shuts up like a clam. Or just laughs it off. Or finds some way to compare what I was saying to a videogame. Maybe I should bring up Cruz.**

**Lovino: Oh geez. And listen to a rant?**

**DeterminedMatthew: Well…maybe if I say something along the lines of Alfred finding someone like I had Cruz.**

**Lovino: I'd watch your wording on that if I were you. You might start a fight between Alfred and Cruz.**

**DeterminedMatthew: I realized that after I typed it.**

**Lovino: Most overprotective brother I have ever met.**

**DeterminedMatthew: Yes I know. Arthur told me on stage.**

**Lovino: Speaking of on stage, what is with that assembly tomorrow?**

**DeterminedMatthew: Oh I forgot to look at the paper! And roma was even telling me to!**

**Lovino: Grandpa?**

**DeterminedMatthew: At the store. I was behind him in line.**

**Lovino: Ah. So yeah. Assembly. Sounds lovely.**

**DeterminedMatthew: …yeah it does.**

Matthew read over the paragraph with a look of doubt settling across his face, "You have got to be kidding me…

**DeterminedMatthew: Well as long as it doesn't have any videos…**

**Lovino: Oh that would be funny though.**

**DeterminedMatthew: no. no it would not be. He's going to show you all being taken out in an ambulance you watch.**

**Lovino: I take back what I said about the video. Never mind. That wouldn't be funny at all.**

**DeterminedMatthew: See. :I**

**Lovino: Ugh…is Alfred home now? You could try…**

**DeterminedMatthew: Unsubtle change of subject. And no. He's not home from the driver's test yet.**

**Lovino: Don't say the word drive. I'm still scarred for life from Antonio.**

**DeterminedMatthew: XD So he drove through a redlight or two.**

**Lovino: Or three. Or four. I swear he was trying to get us killed.**

**DeterminedMatthew: That plane really does fly fast.**

**Lovino: Oh my god. You and Cruz I swear. Just because it flies fast, doesn't mean it has to crash fast!**

**DeterminedMatthew: So are Feliciano and Ludwig on it then?**

**Lovino: Who knows. I'm not asking. Though Ludwig did ask Feli out to supper, so it's possible.**

**DeterminedMatthew: They make a sort of odd couple…**

**Lovino: Yeah. Like a loud guy who threatens people and a quiet person who blends in.**

**DeterminedMatthew: I know who you're talking about. How mean. More like a short Italian with a foul mouth and a hyperactive Spanish guy.**

**Lovino: Hilarious. How about a german speaking person who loves fun and a stiff semi-german speaking person who doesn't?**

**DeterminedMatthew: XD if you take out the semi, it could be Gilbert and almost anyone in his family.**

**Lovino: Yeah. It really could be. I was referring to Roderich though.**

**DeterminedMatthew: I know.**

**Lovino: I kinda wish I could come over to your house. But I'd have to crawl out the window.**

**DeterminedMatthew: Please don't. The last time you did that you twisted your ankle.**

**Lovino: I remember that quite well. No need to remind me. Antonio still laughs about it.**

**DeterminedMatthew: Shouldn't have told him…**

Matthew blinked when he heard the front door slam and leaned forward, "Welcome back, Alfred!"

"Heeeeyyyy…" Alfred wandered into the room before collapsing face-down on the couch, "Stupid test."

"Eh…did you not pass?" Matthew tilted his head in worry.

"Oh, no, I passed. No problem there. It just took so damn long." Alfred rolled off the couch and sat on the floor, "Is Arthur online?"

"No." Matthew shook his head, "Just Lovino and me. By the way, speaking of Arthur…" Matthew looked towards his twin, but Alfred had stood up.

"Ahahaha, I'm gonna go change shirts…" Alfred skipped out of the living room.

"What for?" Matthew blinked in confusion.

"Cuz I feel like it!" Alfred called in return.

"…" Matthew tilted his head before redirecting his attention to the chatroom again.

**DeterminedMatthew: Well I tried again. Alfred is home now.**

**Lovino: And the answer was?**

**DeterminedMatthew: didn't even finish the sentence. Alfred said he was gonna go change shirts…**

**Lovino: Going somewhere?**

**DeterminedMatthew: no… he said he just felt like changing his shirt…**

**Lovino: He's dodging the subject. :I**

**DeterminedMatthew: Yeah…maybe he's uncomfortable with it…but I promised Arthur I'd try.**

**Lovino: I think Arthur should just try himself.**

**DeterminedMatthew: Maybe…**

**Lovino: Speaking of trying, how's that going with Cruz?**

**DeterminedMatthew: …how's what going with Cruz?**

**Lovino: You know **** well what I'm talking about.**

**DeterminedMatthew: 0:) haven't a clue.**

**Lovino: Cute. Real cute. I'll take that as a 'you haven't even tried.'**

**DeterminedMatthew: I have D: It's just… kinda… like hitting my head against a wall.**

**Lovino: Is he saying no? or just ignoring you?**

**DeterminedMatthew: Actually, I lose my nerve and start hitting my head against something.**

**Lovino: -_-**

**DeterminedMatthew: T_T Give me a break.**

**Lovino: NO. ASK.**

**DeterminedMatthew: That's really hard! T_T Besides, he's not online, so they're having supper right now.**

**Lovino: Oh yeah by the way, why is Cruz still living with Antonio anyway?**

**DeterminedMatthew: I'm not really sure… I think his parents accepted a job transfer or something but Cruz wanted to stay here…**

**Lovino: That was nice of Antonio's parents.**

**DeterminedMatthew: Yeah it was.**

Alfred came back into the room and gave his brother a half-grin.

"Still no one else online…" Matthew glanced up at him. Well Alfred had changed the shirt, but avoid the subject was Alfred couldn't do forever, "About Arthur now?"

Alfred's face reddened and he waved a hand dismissively, "Hey did you open your schedule yet? I wanna see if we have any classes together!"

"Would you let me finish what I was saying?" Matthew hurled one of the couch pillows at him.

"I don't wanna talk about it~" Alfred cried, throwing the pillow back, "It was ninth grade! We were both totally drunk!"

"Eh." Matthew stared at him with a blank expression, "…You thought I was talking about the party?"

"You weren't?" Alfred returned the confused stare.

"No." Matthew sighed, "That would be why you kept making up an excuse to leave the room…"

"Dude! That was the only thing I could think of!" Alfred laughed.

"Why would I be asking you about that?! I don't care what you guys did while you were all drunk! You're not responsible for it!"

"Well then!" Alfred bounced onto the couch beside Matthew, "What's up about Arthur?"

Matthew stared at Alfred for a moment, "…"

"What?" Alfred tilted his head.

"…never mind." Matthew looked back to his computer screen.

"What? What? Tell me~" Alfred tugged on the sleeve of Matthew's shirt, "Is he sick? Did he get hit by another car? Depressed again? Still, whichever it is?"

"No, no, not that I know of, and see previous answer. Just forget I said anything!" Matthew shook his head.

"Skipping school tomorrow? Got held back? Well I doubt that last one, never mind. If I didn't get held back, no way he did."

"Would you drop it?!" Matthew smacked away the hand that was still pulling on his sleeve.

"Are you guys dat-" Alfred started.

"NO!" Matthew grabbed a pillow and hit Alfred on the side of his head.

"Dude! You didn't even let me finish!" Alfred burst out laughing.

"I knew the end to what you were saying! And the answer is no! Arthur likes someone, but it's not me!"

"He won't even tell me who." Alfred pouted, "…Do you know?" He glanced at his twin with hopeful eyes.

"…Y-yes, but why would it matter anyway?" Matthew's face reddened slightly.

"I totally wanna know who! Just to make sure they're not gonna make fun of him or whatever." Alfred added the last part hastily at the doubtful expression on Matthew's face.

"…You're strangely over-protective of him…" Matthew tilted his head slightly. Wasn't that almost the same thing Arthur had said about Alfred of _him_?

"So? We've been friends for a while." Alfred crossed his arms and pouted (looking very childish at the moment).

"…Do you like Arthur?" Matthew kept his head tilted. It was a perfectly sound question to be asking in regards to the line of questioning he was getting. So Alfred couldn't snap at him for prying.

Alfred's face instead turned scarlet and he promptly hopped off the couch. Parking himself in front of the television, "I think I'm gonna give that zombie boss another try! Here's hoping he doesn't totally kick my butt again!"

Matthew stared at the back of Alfred's head for a minute before returning his attention to the neglected chatroom.

**DeterminedMatthew: Alfred avoided the question again. :)**

**Lovino: Then why are you happy?**

**DeterminedMatthew: His face is bright red. That counts as a yes, right?**

**Lovino: Works as a yes for me. ._. Arthur would probably appreciate a more definite response tho.**

**DeterminedMatthew: I don't know how to get one. I'm amazed I got that one without getting snapped at.**

**Lovino: You could try tricking him like the Spanish idiot did with me.**

**DeterminedMatthew: um…I hate to bring this up rather suddenly but…**

**Lovino: ? What?**

**DeterminedMatthew: Could you maybe not insult him so much?**

**Lovino: ._. Huh?**

**DeterminedMatthew: Antonio**

**Lovino: I know who you were talking about! That was out of nowhere!**

**DeterminedMatthew: Well what you had typed reminded me of it… he just seems not himself lately.**

**Lovino: ._.**

**DeterminedMatthew: Saw him while he was working yesterday… maybe he just had a bad shift.**

**Lovino: He's been blaming his crying on Cruz being uh… a non-hugger. Like I said before.**

**DeterminedMatthew: he's always been though... :/ the crying can't be just about that.**

**Lovino: …Gah. Fine. Whatever. I'm not promising anything though.**

**DeterminedMatthew: I know, and I'm sorry to ask! I just didn't want to see him like we were in tenth grade.**

**Lovino: ._. I'll stop.**

**DeterminedMatthew: :) I'll try asking Alfred then… but how do I trick him?**

**Lovino: …No clue. Good luck with that. I have no idea how Antonio did it either now that I think of it.**

**DeterminedMatthew: :/ Hmm…**

**.**

**.**

* * *

:D Yay! Sorry this took so long!


	3. I guess the plane crashed after all

And here we go. Four out of four.

* * *

.

.

Matthew rolled over underneath the covers, lifting the blanket just enough so he could see what time it was. He'd been catnapping since three and unfortunately… it was time to get up. Well really it was past time to get up.

"Don't want to…" Matthew whispered. After a moment, he finally threw back the covers and instantly shivered in the cold air, "I wonder if anyone would notice if I went to school in my pjs." Matthew rubbed his arms and glanced around the room. They probably wouldn't. Alfred might notice, and Cruz might be suspicious as well, but the latter wouldn't know for certain, so he could keep his mouth shut (like he ever did).

Matthew climbed out of bed reluctantly, giving the sweatpants he was wearing a final wary look before just pulling on a red sweater over his shirt. Screw it. These clothes were warm. Matthew shuffled out of the bedroom and almost got run over by Alfred running by him.

"Dude! I'm not gonna be late on the first day of school!" Alfred exclaimed while running down the steps, sounding not unlike a herd of elephants.

"Good morning to you, too." Matthew sighed, following his energetic twin into the kitchen. He was rather amazed his parents hadn't come out at the noise level suddenly going way up. Matthew discovered Alfred was gulping down a can of soda and made a face, "Healthy breakfast Alfred."

"Yeah yeah." Alfred waved him off and threw the can towards the recycling bin (though Matthew noticed the can missed the target and landed behind the bin instead), "But I need something to wake me up!"

Matthew pulled on his shoes while Alfred continued running around trying to find something to eat, "I'm just going to leave without you." He made sure to grab his schedule and stuff it in his coat pocket before opening the door.

"Eat something!" Alfred threw an apple at his brother.

Matthew caught the fruit and wandered out the door, munching on it as he went. Alfred could run around the kitchen all he wanted trying to find breakfast, the blonde would no doubt catch up to Matthew before he even made it to the corner.

Shivering even with his heaviest coat on, Matthew hugged himself while he was walking, and just threw the apple in a nearby trash can (the lid had blown off to goodness knows where). _'Hands are way too frozen already to even try holding something.'_

"It's September…why does it have to be so cold already?" Matthew glanced up at the gray clouds. Looked like it would rain later. Terrific. He peered in the park as he went by, but his sight locked on something and he stopped for a second. Matthew backed up a couple paces and looked into the park once more, "Eh?"

Matthew hurried past the park gates and towards the teen on the bench, "Antonio?"

"Morning…" Antonio attempted a smile and wave but failed miserably on both.

"What's wrong?" Matthew leaned forward to peer at the teary face.

"Lovi got mad at me…" Antoino let out a long sigh, "I seem to be good at making people angry."

Matthew stared at the other male blankly. Did he _not_ just tell Lovino about this the night before? "Um…but you two always make up even when you do have a fight!" Matthew tried (okay those words of comfort were definitely lacking something).

"Ahahaha…I'm pretty certain I just got dumped." Antonio hung his head and plucked at the ends of his sleeve.

Matthew sat carefully on the bench next to Antonio, trying to comfort him, "M-maybe if you talk to him at school?"

"Don't want to go." Antonio leaned his head against the back of the bench. He was sitting sideways on it so his back was facing Matthew.

Matthew rubbed Antonio's back and glanced towards the gate, hoping he would see Alfred running by. But either his brother had already gone sprinting by without noticing Matthew was in the park, or he was still at the house.

.

.

* * *

Alfred turned his head back and forth while he was running, "I know Mattie wasn't that far ahead of me!" He paused to catch his breath with a couple quick gasps before starting to run again.

"Lost him already?"

Alfred came to a screeching halt once more (he had only made it like three steps). Turning to glare at the speaker, Alfred scowled in response, "Hush it, you!"

Cruz smirked, "How rude!"

"I could have made a worse comment." Alfred grumbled and glanced back the way he had come for a moment, "Where the heck is he at?"

"At school already?" Cruz shrugged and wandered past him, "I haven't seen him."

"What, was he running the whole way?" Alfred threw his hands into the air, "Seriously?!"

"How the hell should I know?!" Cruz snapped, "Only way to tell is to go to the damn school building!"

"The question was rhetorical smartass!" Alfred yelled.

"You trying to get a black eye _before_ school, Jones?"

"Bring it!" Alfred challenged.

.

.

* * *

Matthew remained on the bench, offering more emotional support than anything else. His vocal support certainly was not doing any good.

"He's so much like Cruz, honestly~ I can't seem to get along with either one of them!" Antonio continued crying.

Matthew made a face. _'Mental note to self: Find Cruz and Lovino. Hit them both with something hard. A textbook would work nicely.'_

"It's not like I'm trying to upset them whenever I talk! But that's what seems to happen!" Antonio gestured wildly with both arms.

Matthew continued to watch Antonio in concern, giving up on the assembly for the moment. Friends were more important than sitting in a darkened room while someone repeated things you already knew.

"I don't know what to dooo…" Antonio hung his head, "Is there something I should be doing different?"

"No." Matthew interjected, "Lovino said he liked you before now, and you haven't changed at all!"

Antonio sniffled and wiped stray tears away with the sleeve of his coat.

Matthew leaned against the back of the bench, "I don't think Lovino means to upset you, it's just the way he is and how he responds to stuff…Cruz is just blatantly rude sometimes. He could have a little more consideration for the feelings of others." First-hand experience on that one.

Antonio let out a short laugh, and Matthew just continued to absentmindedly rub his back.

"Maybe I shouldn't try so hard." Antonio spoke quietly.

"So long as you can tell the difference between that and not trying at all." Matthew commented. _'We certainly couldn't_.'

Antonio nodded in silence and stared off towards the trees in the corner of the park.

.

.

* * *

"Coward." Alfred muttered, shuffling behind Cruz.

"There were adults coming you idiot! If they saw two people fighting, they would have called the police!"

Alfred continued sulking, much to the other's annoyance.

"Childish moron." Cruz grumbled.

"Whatever!" Alfred yelled, "You're the rudest person I've ever met!"

"And you're the stupidest." Cruz retorted.

"How does Matthew even get along with you?" Alfred strangled the air in front of him, teeth gritted in annoyance.

"I can be polite when I'm not around someone I _detest_." Cruz smirked.

Alfred's eyes narrowed, "Look you son of a…"

"Starting a bit early aren't you two?"

Cruz turned his glare towards Mr. Smith, who was standing at the gates of the school, "And your point?"

"I am not tolerating violence this year." The principal warned, giving both of them a stern look.

"Did you ever?" Alfred stared at him blankly.

"Nope." Cruz smiled and walked by the principal, heading for the front steps.

Alfred grumbled under his breath and stalked after Cruz.

After a bit more arguing (and hurling insults at one another), Cruz and Alfred reached the auditorium, with no sign of Matthew.

"Dude, where the heck did he go?" Alfred scanned the nearly-full room.

"I'm not repeating this conversation." Cruz wandered down the nearest aisle and picked a random seat half-way down.

To his annoyance, Alfred ended up sitting beside him.

"Go sit somewhere else!" Cruz snapped.

"Deal with it!" Alfred backfired (was that seriously his retort to everything?)

Cruz glared at him but turned his head front where he could see…Lovino? Somehow the Italian had gotten there before him. But by the looks of it, Antonio was nowhere in sight. _'Must be the younger one of the two…'_ Cruz shrugged it off and continued glancing around the room.

"Man, start the damn assembly already." Alfred groaned, and sank in his seat. Apparently he had completely given up on looking for his brother already.

Cruz rolled his eyes.

.

.

* * *

Antonio kicked dirt that was underneath the bench, "This is stupid…"

"No it's not!" Matthew protested, "It's okay to be upset! Maybe Lovino was in a bad mood this morning!"

"Would you say I haven't been acting like myself?" Antonio lifted his head to look at Matthew.

Matthew hesitated, seeing the male was still on the verge of tears, "Um… the only difference I've really noticed is that you seem a bit…depressed. Even before now."

Antonio looked down at the ground again, "Probably because of fighting with other people lately…"

"Probably…" Matthew agreed and nodded quietly.

"Even at work…I swear I get stuck with the worst customers!" Antonio cried.

"They complain a lot?" Matthew tilted his head.

"About the restaurant, about the menu, the food, the outfits we wear…it's like…go somewhere else and eat then." Antonio hung his head.

"Really. If you're going to complain about everything…"

"I mean the one customer actually said the food _tasted_ like it was from the seventies!" Antonio exclaimed.

"That was the cook's fault not yours." Matthew sighed.

"And then they wanted to see the manager, but he was at another table, so they got even more mad!" Antonio shook his head, "Getting that job was the worst idea ever!"

"I guess people like that just like to complain…" Matthew watched Antonio carefully.

"Why are people so mean…" Antonio whispered.

.

.

* * *

"Okay, if I may have your attention now!"

Cruz frowned and looked towards the stage. No sign of Lovino, Antonio, or Matthew. They could be on the opposite side of the auditorium, but something seemed a little off for some reason. Maybe it was just a nagging feeling at the back of his mind.

Alfred seemed to read his mind, because he began looking around, "Should I text him?"

"Your message won't get through. It's too crowded in here." Cruz muttered.

"Now as some of you may know, we had an issue with our gym teacher last year."

Cruz let out a short laugh, "That's putting it mildly!"

"Yeah really." Alfred made a face, "The guy had major problems!"

"He is no longer teaching here ("Oh that's a relief." Cruz rolled his eyes, "I should hope not."), and there have been other staff changes as well ("Who else did they fire?" Alfred blinked ). I'm sure you'll know our new teachers when you see them."

"That's a rather scary thing to say. Are they in costume? Wearing neon vests?" Cruz scowled, "Be a little more specific!"

"They wouldn't be in costume. It's not Halloween." Alfred made a face.

"Good point." Cruz shrugged.

"However! There were some isolated incidents that did not involve a teacher…technically. The student who hijacked our intercom…"

Cruz burst out laughing, followed shortly after by Alfred.

"…Has been foiled in any further attempts to do so, as that door is now securely locked."

"Like he was going to do it again." Cruz snorted.

"It was funny though!" Alfred grinned.

"Any attempt by any student to start a food fight, regardless of the food being edible or not ("Not." Cruz said flatly, as Alfred nodded in agreement.), will be dealt with in the office. I am not having a repeat of last year's fight causing several students to go to the hospital!"

"Wouldn't know. Skipped out on cleaning." Cruz leaned back in his seat.

"Yeah…and then got in trouble…" Alfred sighed.

"If any student is found to be skipping class, do yourself a favor and just head to the office with whoever found you, and don't be like this student."

"They're going to show that video of Matthew aren't they." Cruz watched the screen.

"Looks like it." Alfred nodded.

They both watched Matthew hit the water and fall over the railing.

"That had to leave a bruise." Cruz said flatly.

"Dunno. Never thought to ask." Alfred tilted his head.

"I assure you, he survived the landing. And while skipping class is entirely worse, any student found on their _cell phones_ in class, will also be in trouble. This goes for guidance counselors and teachers as well."

"Is it my imagination, or did he look off-stage when he said that last part?" Cruz raised an eyebrow.

"Dude, he looked off stage. Ten bucks says he was looking at Roma." Alfred grinned.

"If, for whatever reason, you do decide to skip class, don't go out the doors and get hit by a car."

Cruz started laughing again while Alfred made a face (the laugh only got louder with the expression on the blonde's face).

"I am not making those phone calls again. Telling a parent their child was hit by a car is bad enough without having to explain that the student was also skipping class at the time! And just because your teacher tells you to leave if you don't want to be there, it is not a justified reason for leaving the school in the first place!"

Cruz had just gotten control of the laughing fit when it went overboard again. Alfred turned his head slowly to stare at the person sitting next to him. This was definitely the most he had ever seen Cruz laugh.

"Those things now having been said…threatening, bullying, excessive cursing, and placing a curse on someone is not tolerated."

"They're a couple years too late with that one." Alfred remarked.

"Yeah." Cruz made a face.

"That last one shouldn't be an issue since the main offenders graduated last year. However, their siblings that still attend this school are kindly requested to refrain from following in their footsteps."

Alfred and Cruz exchanged glances, both of them making a mental note to not tick Arthur off at any period during the school year.

"I think that covers just about…oh. Also, as most of you have no doubt experienced, hormones are quite commonly running rampant in your age groups. Please keep the public displays of affection to handholding only."

"Okay that could have gone without being said." Cruz scoffed, "What the hell."

"Like anyone is going to be kissing someone at school! We have barely enough time to make it to our classes!" Alfred exclaimed.

"That should cover everything now. I invite anyone with questions or comments to come to the office if need be. As long as it's not to complain about a teacher within five minutes of stepping into their classroom. That goes for the student with sass issues."

"HEY!" Cruz yelled.

Alfred burst out laughing while Cruz swore under his breath.

"I'm getting him back for that." Cruz growled.

.

.

* * *

YAY. Done. Sort of. Kind of. It's done. Deal. And this one gets the vote for the shortest. Wow. O-o


	4. Cheer up Antonio!

This one is probably going to be the shortest again. Probably because I don't really have someone else I can throw onto this one without making it seem odd.

* * *

.

.

Matthew continued to listen as Antonio talked on, mostly about his job, but now and then he would say something about life at his house.

"I mean, it's not like I go out of my way to make sure these people can't get a decent meal! Certainly not my fault their waiter ran out the door either! Can't say I blame him though…"

Matthew just nodded in silence. He could feel his phone going off inside his pocket, but continued to ignore the cellular device. Right now he was more concerned about Antonio than anything the others could be talking about.

"If they always have such bad experiences at the diner, then why do they keep coming back?" Antonio gestured wildly with both arms, "They're worse than the guys who are our age that come in there all the time! And they keep getting seated in my area!"

"Maybe they request it?" Matthew suggested.

A frown crossed over Antonio's face, "If they're requesting it, they're only doing so that so they can make fun of whatever outfit I'm dressed in. And I'm not allowed to yell or be rude at the customer, so I have to stand there until they decide to give their order…"

"Which backs up service at your other tables…" Matthew sighed.

"And just leaves me with a crappy night that wasn't worth going in there for." Antonio propped his feet up on the bench, hugging his knees to his chest. The male looked close to tears.

"Why don't you quit then?" Matthew tilted his head, getting even more worried.

"I'd have to be at home more often. It's a toss-up between which one I would rather not be in the least." Antonio responded quietly.

Matthew glanced out across the park grounds. On one hand he wished Roma was here to help calm Antonio, but on the other hand, they'd both be getting read the riot act for skipping school in the first place.

"I have no clue what I should even try anymore. I was trying to act happy so Lovino wouldn't notice, but I ended up ticking him off. I've tried everything I can think of for the customers I'm having problems with, and nothing works. It feels like I hit a brick wall."

"Did you tell the managers about the teenagers bothering you?" Matthew looked back towards Antonio.

"I told my immediate supervisor, but it doesn't seem like he cares. He still seats them in the area I'm serving."

"Tell the manager next highest?" Matthew suggested.

"Then my supervisor gets mad that I went over his head. Happened before with another waiter."

"Yeah, but if he's not stepping in to solve the problem, you don't have much of a choice!"

"I suppose…" Antonio rested his head on his knees, "I don't like conflict though…"

"Sometimes it's unavoidable…" Matthew patted him on the shoulder, "But things always work out in the end!"

"Not always." Antonio whispered, "Sometimes things get too broken to merit even an attempt to fix them."

"Doesn't mean you shouldn't at least try. Giving up only makes the feeling worse."

"Terrific. I feel like crap as it is."

"Then come up with a plan of action! Preferably one step at a time. Trying to do everything at once will result in a catastrophe."

Antonio laughed a bit. "Right. You would know that for certain."

Matthew nodded, "Fix whatever is most important, or easier might be better, first. Lovino you might want to keep until last, just because it's the problems at your job that cause the strange behavior that Lovino got mad about."

Antonio nodded in silence.

"So move on up the management chain until you find someone willing to help you with those annoying guys!"

"Probably the floor manager…" Antonio mumbled, "He'd be in charge of the host who seats people anyway…"

"Next time you two are there at the same time then."

Antonio nodded again.

"Lovino…it might take a bit of explaining to him to tell him what was bothering you…"

"That's even if I can get him to talk to me."

"Well he can't avoid you forever. If necessary, I can always talk to him for you!"

Antonio smiled (first real one all morning much to Matthew's relief), "Thanks!"

"As far as Cruz goes, I don't think I'd have any more luck than you would." Matthew made a face, prompting another laugh from Antonio, "We might need to brainstorm that one a bit."

"He's so blunt about everything." Antonio sighed.

"Uh-huh…he could stand to be a little nicer." Matthew stared upwards, "It'd help a bit with approaching him. You never know what mood he's going to be in the way he is now."

"I knoooooow~" Antonio cried, "Why's he have to be so mean all the time?"

_Antonio reminds me of Roma when the conversation is about Regis. _Matthew sighed to himself.

"And mom and dad are…" Antonio paused.

"Are?" Matthew glanced at him in confusion.

His friend stared past Matthew, eyes fixated on something behind the blonde, "Going. To. Kill. Me."

Somehow Matthew doubted that was the end to the original sentence, but Matthew turned to see what had captured Antonio's attention. Two police officers stood by the park gate, not looking in their direction, but down at a paper the one was holding.

"Uh…we're missing class aren't we? You don't think they're looking for us, do you?" Antonio laughed nervously.

"S-someone would have had to tell the principal we weren't in class…" Matthew hesitated, "I mean…it's possible I suppose…"

"Craaaaaaaap." Antonio whispered, "I am so in trouble."

"I am in no less." Matthew sighed, "Maybe they didn't see us…"

"Maybe." Antonio curled up tighter on the bench, "Should we hide?"

"It might not be very smart to hide from cops. They'd think we did something wrong if they're not looking for us." Matthew glanced back at the uniformed officers.

"Yeah…"

The two stared at the police officers for a minute longer before exchanging glances with one another. They both slid off the ends of the bench, hiding behind a tree on Antonio's side and a bush on Matthew's side.

"No one ever said we were smart." Matthew said flatly.

"Hear hear. I'm staying behind this tree. Maybe they won't notice." Antonio grinned at Matthew.

"It might be safer up the tree." Matthew looked up into the red foliage, "Scoot on up there. I'll be under my bush."

"Okay!" Antonio climbed the tree with ease (_how does he do that? If I tried that I'd be on the ground in two seconds!_) while Matthew huddled underneath the bush.

"Worst. Idea. Ever." Matthew muttered under his breath. He could feel the damp soil through his sweatpants. Of all the days to decide to go to school in his pajamas.

.

.

* * *

DONE. DONE. DONE. AND DONE. XD Sorry for the shortness of these chapters, but hey, an update is an update!


	5. Emergency Vehicle List Almost Complete

Some of these are definitely longer than others. This is not one of those longer ones. Sorry.

* * *

.

.

Matthew remained under the bush, waiting for the officers to leave. "Seriously. Go somewhere else!"

"We don't even know what they're doing! We're probably just being paranoid." Antonio hissed from the tree nearby.

"Yeah, but you know they'll ask us for ID or why we're not in school." Matthew responded.

"Ugh, true." Antonio peered over to the gates, "Do you think they saw us already?"

"They would have come over already right? So help me if they _are_ looking for us because we're not in school…"

"Well like you said, someone would have to report us missing first." Antonio hesitated.

"Remind me later to hit whoever it was on the head."

Antonio let out a light laugh, unfortunately loud enough to be heard by the officers. They must have had really good hearing or something.

"We're in trouble." Matthew sighed.

"Sorry!" Antonio whispered.

Both officers came over slowly, taking great care to keep an eye on their surroundings. Boy these guys really are cautious when they can't see who they're dealing with. "Alright. Come out wherever you are."

Matthew shot a look up at Antonio before crawling out from underneath the bush, "It was rather cold there anyhow."

"Well there's one of the missing students." The leftmost officer sighed.

"Where's your friend at?"

Antonio slid down the tree trunk at that, "Present."

"Why were you…oh never mind. Come on you two, your school staff is wondering where you are."

"I knew it." Matthew muttered. He followed the officers reluctantly out of the park and down the sidewalk.

"We seriously have to ride in a patrol car?" Antonio looked at the vehicle uncertainly. They really made school-skippers think twice about doing this a second time! How did Cruz even do this on a regular basis?

"Consider it a police escort." One of the officers opened the back of the car.

"I'd rather not." Matthew made a face but climbed in anyway, scooting over so Antonio could sit beside him, "Great. I've ridden in an ambulance, a casket, and now a police car. I have completed all emergency vehicles."

"You didn't get airlifted yet." Antonio pointed out quietly.

"Right. Something's going to have to happen this year." Matthew giggled.

"I would advise against that." The police officer who was steering the car let out a loud sigh, "And can you please say things like that when there's not law officials in hearing range?"

"I should think you'd be happy we're not conspiring to do anything out of your hearing range." Matthew huffed.

.

.

* * *

The police cruiser pulled up to the school not ten minutes later (though it was the longest few minutes Antonio had ever experienced in his life).

"Do you seriously have to walk us in?"Antonio cried, "Talk about embarrassing!"

"Don't try skipping next time!"

Matthew grumbled under his breath as the officers led the way into the school building. Thankfully class was in session so they weren't getting stared at by students in the hallway. That probably would have made this about one hundred times worse.

"Two missing students found."

The secretary looked up from her desk to peer at both officers, "I'll let the principal know. He's not here at the moment though. Apparently we have a student on the roof."

"Oh good grief." The first officer shook his head, "Well, can we leave them with you? We should be on our way to continue making rounds."

"Certainly. Thank you." She bid goodbye and turned her attention to the two teenagers, "Well…"

Roma walked into the office at that point from a back hall, "Oh, there you two are."

"Oh Mr. Vargas, could you give them the appropriate lecture while I catch up on my papers here?" Miss Kia glanced at him.

"Certainly!" Roma smiled cheerfully and promptly pushed Antonio and Matthew back the way he had just come.

"I didn't know the guidance office was connected to the principal's office." Matthew commented.

"Makes it easier to go back and forth." Roma responded, shooing them into a smaller room.

Antonio plopped in the nearest empty char and began fiddling with the armrest, not looking up while Matthew sat in the chair next to him. Roma shut the door and sat in his desk chair in front of the computer.

Except for the chiming now and then with their phones going off (and Roma was the only one reading whatever was being said) the room remained silent.

"…So why were you two not here?" Roma finally asked, pressing buttons on his phone (presumably responding to something).

Some lecture this was. He wasn't even looking in their direction. Matthew glanced at Antonio for a second before deciding on the best answer he could think of at the moment, "Our track record of assemblies is crap."

Roma raised his head to look at both of them. It was difficult to tell what his reaction was to that, but it looked like he was about two seconds away from laughing, "Your missed your first two classes as well."

"All they do the first day is hand us a textbook and give the same sink-or-swim speech that they gave us the year before." Antonio responded flatly.

Roma actually did end up laughing at that answer, "Actually most of your teachers this year are new to the building. I don't think they have identical speeches."

"They would if the teacher before them left any notes behind." Matthew commented.

Roma gave a broad smile, "Now, you can't automatically assume things first without trying them."

"Watch me." Antonio muttered, causing Roma to burst out laughing again.

Amid his talking to them, Matthew noticed he kept responding to whoever was talking to him on the phone. He was beginning to wonder if it was the virtual conversation that had Roma laughing.

"Well, you two really should make a visit to your first two classes to pick up anything you might have missed." Roma looked back and forth between Antonio and Matthew, "I'm not going to bother trying to find out the real reason for both of you to skip, since it's rather obvious neither of you want to talk about it."

Matthew let his gaze roam around the room instead of making eye contact with Roma. The adult was probably thinking Matthew was the one having the problem, but he could keep that idea. Better to let it rest the way it was, and not cause any unnecessary worry.

"However."

Antonio winced a bit. The tone of voice had become rather serious, no traces of amusement to be found. And this was completely unlike the Roma he was used to seeing. Is this what Matthew had to deal with every time he came down to the guidance office? How did he manage it? Antonio's gaze remained locked on the floor, refusing to even look at the counselor.

"I strongly advise you both to make sure you read over the new school guidelines. If a student, or students," Roma's eyes flickered to Antonio, "Is suspected of any problem that might prevent them from focusing on schoolwork, whether the problem be physical or emotional, we are allowed to call your parents."

Matthew stared at Roma, too much in shock to really come up with any sort of response. Who was the one who had written up these new rules? Were they trying to make sure they had an attendance count of zero?

Antonio felt a sinking feeling of dread in his stomach. He wasn't going to call them _now_, was he?

"This is the _only_ time I will look the other way." Roma looked between the two of them once more, "And you should really consider yourselves lucky that I'm doing so. But seeing as how your parents were already called once today, I certainly have no desire to phone them a second time."

Antonio very slowly sank in his seat. Now he was really in trouble.

_I will seriously hit whoever reported us missing._ Matthew kept his face blank, staring past the counselor rather than at him.

"And considering how worried your friends, and relatives, were, I'd advise letting them know that you're okay." Roma leaned back in his chair, turning his attention to an email that had just popped up on the screen.

Matthew pulled out his phone, and completely ignored any messages that had been sent in the time he had been ignoring his phone. He simply typed in one line to the entire chatroom.

**Matthew: I hate you all.**

**Antonio: T_T Yeah. Thanks. A lot.**

"Done." Matthew put his phone away and calmly folded his hands in his lap.

Roma glanced at his own phone and turned back towards them, making a face at the both of them, "And you know full well that is not what I meant."

Matthew kept an innocent facial expression up while he responded, "Well next time be more specific."

"There better not _be_ a next time." Roma said flatly.

"Is there a better response to having the cops called and getting a police escort?" Antonio sank back in his chair.

"You could at least try and act sorry for worrying them." Roma rubbed his forehead with one hand.

"Maybe after I'm done being annoyed." Matthew crossed his arms across his chest and sulked.

"Did one of them say something?" Roma tilted his head, looking confused for a minute.

"I thought you weren't going to try." Matthew said flatly, "And it was annoyance that they have no faith in us being able to take care of ourselves."

Roma gazed at him for a minute. He didn't look like he believed a word that Matthew was saying. Actually the look he was currently getting reminded him of the stares that Roma had given him when they had first met. The I-can-see-straight-through-the-crap-lies-you're-te lling stare.

The few seconds of staring back and forth felt like it lasted a lot longer than it actually had, and Matthew found himself wondering if Roma really was able to read minds. But then, he would probably be in a lot more trouble now if he could, right?

Much to their surprise (and relief), Roma dismissed the both of them, telling them to go visit the classes they had missed.

.

* * *

Once out in the hall, Antonio let out a gasp of air he hadn't even realized he was holding, "Ohmyword! I thought we were history! Roma's a lot scarier than I thought!"

"At least he didn't call our parents, but you might want to hold off on the relief until we get home. My parents will be pitching a fit for sure." Matthew let out a long sigh. Maybe he would just go visit the other classes later.

Antonio let out a soft whimper, "I don't even wanna know how mad they're gonna be."

Matthew patted Antonio on the shoulder, trying to be as comforting as he could, "If it would make things easier, just tell them the same thing we told Roma."

"He didn't believe us…"

"Consistency holds up better than a web of lies. We'd probably end up hanging ourselves." Mattehw paused at the stairs, "Third bell is what's going to be starting up soon, right?"

"Please use a different wording next time. I'm going to have that mental image stuck in my head for a while now!" Antonio pleaded, tugging on Matthew's sleeve, "And I suppose so. He said we missed the first two…"

"Oh, third class I have…" Matthew pulled out his crumpled schedule from his coat pocket, "…"

Antonio glanced around them, "I'm a little surprised our messages haven't gotten a response."

"So am I. Teachers must have realized they were texting. That or they can't figure out what to say." Matthew scanned down the paper, "Um. I have gym. Oh lucky me."

"Ancient Times. Apparently I missed Psychology and Life Prep." Antonio made a face, "Well, I'm not crying over those missed classes."

"Huh? I missed two study halls? Am I missing a class on mine?" Matthew glanced at Antonio's schedule in confusion.

Antonio looked back and forth in between both papers, "You're missing a cooking class."

"Oh that's strange." Matthew tilted his head, "Guess I'll ask at the office when I have a spare minute."

"Spare minute." Antonio repeated with a grin, "Well apparently my class is upstairs, so I will see you later! Oh, and thank you."

Matthew smiled and waved as Antonio vanished up the stairs. He hoped Antonio would be okay to make it through the rest of his classes. He turned and headed for the gymnasium, and hopefully the gym class wouldn't be like previous years. Matthew certainly didn't miss the tackle-happy teacher from their sophomore year, but also didn't miss the run-until-you-can't-feel-your-legs teacher of the year before either.

He looked upwards as the bell rang and automatically moved to the side of the hall. Didn't really feel like getting run over on top of how he was already feeling.

.

.

* * *

…Okay maybe that wasn't as short as I originally thought.


	6. Souphead becomes Clawgirl

Okay Tumblr broke so now I don't have anything to distract me. Sims 3 broke, too. *large sigh* So here it goes. Typing. More or less. Without distractions.

* * *

.

.

Matthew made his way outside where their new gym teacher stood. He seemed to be a little out of breath at first glance. Either he had spent a long time running in the last class, or he was out of shape (which would be rather ironic).

"While we wait for everyone, I'll start handing out colored bands. We're going to be playing a game of freeze tag!"

Matthew raised both eyebrows as he was handed a yellow cloth. Now that Mr. Ross was closer, Matthew could see dirt rubbed across his face. _How did he manage that one?_

As the teacher stepped away to go towards a student who had run across the asphalt towards the rest of the class, Matthew made a face. _Of course Lovino is in this class. It can't wait until I calm down a bit. Does this mean I have an excuse to hit him at least?_ He noticed Lovino had been given the opposing team's color. Oh well. At least he wouldn't get in trouble for it now if he did end up losing his temper!

"If your band is pulled off, you're frozen! You have to steal a band of your own color without moving in order to be unfrozen!"

Matthew listened to the teacher's instructions and let out a mental sigh. _Well that sounded terrific. In other words, if your band gets yanked off, you're stuck in one spot for the rest of the class!_ Matthew shook his head and kept his gaze on Lovino while the two teams separated from one another.

Matthew was able to follow Lovino's weaving pattern after the whistle was blown with ease. He didn't seem like he was even _trying_ to play at all, rather he was just…avoiding contact. _Does he think it's a game of regular tag?_ Able to catch up by ducking past one of his own teammates, Matthew grabbed the end of Lovino's blue sash and gave it a hard yank. The look on Lovino's face was priceless, and also gave Matthew enough opportunity to slap Lovino across the back of the head.

Matthew ran away from Lovino, pulling other bands as he ran. It looked like his team was winning so far, though with the way the rules were set up, it made it rather difficult to tell who was on his side and who wasn't. _Am I supposed to just pull bands at random and see who stops? But then people can just jump sides because I doubt our teacher even knows who is on which team!_

He glanced around him, trying to make sure that no one was attempting a sneak-from-behind-yank on any of his bands, while also making sure that he wasn't going to be caught near someone of the opposite team who was frozen. It would be entirely too easy for someone to just reach across and steal one of the bands off his arm while they were both frozen.

Matthew spotted Lovino coming towards him and briefly wondered how he had gotten unfrozen before darting through a group of his own (frozen) teammates. This was certainly going to be fun. Somehow he had to avoid Lovino and avoid getting frozen near 'yellow' students. Especially since he had a growing number of their sashes in his collection. He glanced towards where Mr. Ross was standing and began wondering again how the dirt had gotten on his face. How does playing freeze tag result in one's face being pushed into the ground? It wasn't tackle tag! _Though him playing last class would explain his being out of breath earlier._

Matthew kept running and glanced back over his shoulder. Lovino was still chasing him. He certainly had persistence, but it was getting annoying at this point. Even if he had an explanation for the way he acted this morning, it didn't mean Matthew's anger at him was just going to dissipate into thin air. He ducked behind one of his frozen teammates to pause and catch his breath, and watched as Lovino darted by not two minutes later.

"When is that bell going to ring?" Matthew sighed.

"Not for another ten minutes~" The taller male behind him replied. He wasn't even _trying_ to grab a band off of the people passing him. He was just standing in one spot watching.

_Must not care who wins or not. I think the people who are frozen and just standing without trying have the right idea though. At least they won't be out of breath and sore for the rest of the day!_ Matthew straightened up, "Maybe I can just pretend I'm frozen."

"Do you not have both colors tied to you? They will realize it in a heartbeat!"

"…I don't." Matthew tied the yellow bands around his classmate's arm instead, "You have them."

"Be a spy and infiltrate!"

Matthew smiled and remained in one spot, watching Lovino run around with Maria now chasing him. Apparently she was on the same team he was. _Well at least Lovino forgot about chasing me…but I kind of feel sorry for him now._

Matthew watched the altercation between Lovino and Maria escalate and winced. Lovino would definitely be sporting some injuries later! _I was wondering why some girls prefer fake nails... I suppose it's for self-defense... though in that case, it was just plain offense._

"Now really, if Mr. Ross had seen that, she'd be sent to the office." Matthew commented aloud.

"See what? What am I missing? Something exciting?"

"Clawgirl strikes again." Matthew responded quietly.

"YOU JUST CLAWED MY FACE YOU MORON!"

"Ai, it's getting loud now!" Francis yelped, "Sheesh!"

No sooner had those words been spoken, silence fell over the class. Most heads turned towards the person who had yelled so loudly, while others, frozen, looked in the opposite direction. It was almost amusing in a way.

"Well now it's quiet." Matthew giggled, "Lovino really doesn't hold his temper well!"

Mr. Ross ran by the two, rushing to smooth the situation out before it got any worse. He didn't quite make it within arm's distance before Lovino's retaliation.

Matthew watched in worry. Angry at the male or not, he was concerned about Lovino. Matthew hurried after his friend, dropping the bands in the open box as he followed after the Italian. Mr. Ross hadn't even made an attempt to stop or call after him, so he wasn't worried about getting in trouble (at least not for the moment).

Running through the locker room, Matthew peered into the hallway and saw Lovino headed in the opposite direction of where he had been advised to go. _He's not seriously going to go through the rest of the day like that…_

Sneaking after him, Matthew kept his footsteps quiet so as not to alert Lovino to his presence. This really was pointless…the other male seemed to be too preoccupied with his thoughts to even notice a herd of _elephants_ passing by him!

As Lovino rounded a corner, still looking towards the floor as he was walking, Matthew gazed after him, watching the male head into the bathroom. Maybe that meant he was going to at least wash the cuts?

Matthew hesitantly pushed open the door to the bathroom and saw Lovino wiping off the side of his face. Good. That meant he could relax at least a little…if it hadn't been that Matthew noticed Lovino was also crying. Not so much that any sound escaped from the other's mouth, but those were definitely tears.

Matthew bit his lip and quietly approached the sink, maintaining what he deemed a safe distance, "…Lovino?"

The only response he got was a silent stare, and that was through the reflection in the mirror. Lovino hadn't even turned his head to look in his general direction.

Matthew stood in silence for a few minutes, trying to figure out how to get Lovino to say something. He certainly wasn't about to apologize. Wasn't even close to _considering_ it.

"If the scratches hurt that much, you really should see the nurse." Matthew spoke up.

"They don't."

Matthew tilted his head. Well so much for that approach. Something else he could say? But he had no clue what, so he remained silent. Clenching his fists slightly, Matthew edged a little closer, trying to steel his nerves, "I'm not apologizing."

"I wasn't looking for an apology."

Matthew frowned for a minute before leaning over slightly, "...You're crying though..."

"Have you seen the state of this bathroom? It's enough to make anyone cry! And hot water apparently doesn't even exist in here!" Lovino made a wild gesture at the sink he was currently using before dabbing at his arm once more.

"Well no, if you want hot water, you have to use the first sink." Matthew responded quietly, "It was like that last year."

Lovino stopped attempting to wipe his arm off and looked towards the mirror instead (still somehow avoiding eye contact), "…Well excuse me for being an idiot."

Matthew watched Lovino in concern for a minute before looking around the bathroom. He had to admit Lovino was right about the bathroom, "It could stand to have a little cleaning."

"Huh?" Lovino turned his head to look at him in confusion (at least he wasn't just staring at him through the mirror anymore).

"The bathroom." Matthew answered, "There's even dust on the windowsills."

"Pretty sure that's not all dust." Lovino grumbled.

"Some bug and spider corpses?" Matthew leaned against the sink. Sad to say, it was probably one of the cleaner surfaces in the room they were standing in.

He glanced over as Lovino pulled a marker out of his pocket. How he had managed to not lose it was beyond Matthew's comprehension. "What are you…" Matthew watched as Lovino stepped up to the side of one of the bathroom stalls and began writing on it in big black letters, "…You're going to get in trouble."

"Like I care. It'll be worth the trip to the office. Unlike that last one." Lovino shoved the marker back in his pocket, "Well obviously these are not gonna stop bleeding anytime soon." He threw the wet towel into the trashcan.

"The nurse has bandaids…"

"I am not going down there. She'll tell grandpa!" Lovino stalked out of the bathroom, with Matthew following close behind.

Matthew winced at the reminder when Lovino referred to his relative, "I've already seen him one more time than I wanted to already."

"Updating you on new policies?" Lovino questioned.

"Yeah…and to tell us that he called our parents…or somebody had." Matthew sighed.

"You should be happy it was before you guys got there and not after."

"He said he was going to let it slide this time…only this time…but as long as it doesn't happen a second time we're fine!"

Lovino stopped in his tracks and turned to stare at Matthew, "…"

"What?" Matthew blinked, also coming to a halt to avoid running into him.

"That's what he said? You…don't seriously believe that do you?" Lovino stared at him with an Are-You-Completely-Stupid look on his face.

"Eh?" Matthew felt himself starting to panic, "Sh-should we not have?"

Lovino looked upwards towards the ceiling with a look of sheer exasperation, "I should offer him congratulations."

"What?!" Matthew panicked.

Matthew watched as Lovino took out his cell phone and proceeded to start typing on it, and hastily took out his own as well so he could see the conversation going back and forth.

**Lovino: Congrats Grandpa.**

**Roma: Hm? On what?**

**Lovino: ._. Someone actually believed your bull******

Matthew's face blanked. Wait. That was a lie? That was completely a lie?

**Roma: Whatever are you talking about?**

**Matthew: Ehh! Wait, you didn't call our parents right?**

**Roma: I said I had no desire to.  
**

Matthew read over the messages quickly before looking up from his phone with a sigh of relief, and he pocketed it once more, "I think we're safe in that regard."

"Really." Lovino just stared at him with a blank expression. It was impossible to tell what the male was thinking, but somehow Matthew got the feeling he was still calling him an idiot.

"He says he didn't call them." Matthew tilted his head.

Lovino just shook his head, "No. He didn't."

"Eh? Yes he—"

"No, grandpa said he had said he _didn't want to_ call. He never said he _didn't_ call." Lovino sighed, "I can't believe someone actually fell for that."

Matthew stared back at him for a minute before what Lovino was saying started to make sense.

"You really should watch out for the way he words his sentences. For future reference." Lovino commented, and started to walk away again.

"Wait! Does that mean he _is_ going to call them?" Matthew panicked and ran after him.

"If he hasn't already, there's a good chance of it. Grandpa has zero tolerance for certain things…" Lovino's voice got quieter, and Matthew missed the last part of what he was saying, but he was too busy panicking about the fact that their parents might actually get called.

"Oh…I need to warn Antonio then!" Matthew let out a long sigh, "Craaaap…"

"Warn me about what?"

Matthew halted in his footsteps, just behind Lovino and peered around him. Antonio and Cruz were standing a few feet away, just staring back at them. _They're not in class either…_

"Uh…about…" Matthew was unsure of bringing up the subject in front of Cruz. _I wonder if Antonio told him anything about this morning…maybe I should just wait until later…_ He met Cruz's gaze for a brief second until the other's eyes focused on Lovino instead.

"What the hell happened to your face?" Cruz asked flatly.

Lovino scowled in response, "Your taste in women sucks!"

"Maria did that?" Antonio looked from Matthew, with a look of confusion, to Lovino, with a look of concern.

"Souphead." Cruz stated.

"Clawgirl." Matthew corrected him. Souphead wasn't a suitable name at the moment.

Lovino rubbed the side of his face, leaving a red smear going across his cheek and hand.

"Just go to the nurse please!" Matthew pleaded, half-tugging on Lovino's sleeve.

"No." Lovino snapped before starting off down the hall.

"You two talk about whatever you needed to." Cruz shrugged and went after Lovino, promptly pulling the Italian off in a completely different direction.

"I am not going down there!" Lovino yelled.

Antonio stared after them for a minute, looking like he really wasn't sure of _what_ to say, before looking back at Matthew, "What's up?"

"Uh…I hate to say this, but Lovino thinks Roma was lying about not calling our parents." Matthew sighed.

The look of confusion he was getting from Antonio turned to one of horror, "Whaaaat? What the heck are we supposed to say then?"

"I'm fine with saying the same thing we told Roma." Matthew responded.

"I don't think my parents are gonna let it go with just that…" Antonio cried.

"Grounded together…"

"And the school year just started." Antonio hung his head, "…Well!" He lifted his head again, "At least it'll mean less trouble building up! I can focus on my to-do list!"

"Positive thinking!" Matthew cheered.

* * *

.

.

Re-did this chapter because of the confusion between the conversation with Lovino and Matthew...


	7. Ah poetry!

There were some edits here and there, but nothing too major in Canadian Style as far as I can recall... most of the editing was in the last chapter so the conversation between Lovino and Matthew was not totally confusing.

* * *

.

.

Matthew sat in class, staring at the teacher moreso than his brother who was attempting (and failing) to get his attention. So far, it was the same basic thing they had heard in all the other classes. Their new textbooks, having been passed out, sat on each student's desk. Some textbooks were still open to the front cover, like Matthew's, waiting for a name to be written inside.

_I should probably write my name in this…_ Matthew looked down at the inside cover and the text box. There was only one open square at the bottom, and the person before him had apparently had a sense of humor. _I have to give them credit for originality. You don't expect to see Mailman written in here with the year being rain sleet or snow…_

He hovered his pen over the cover and frowned. He didn't like writing his real name in these, specifically in the case that he would ever lose it, he didn't feel like being paged to the office by name. _Something I'll remember…_ Matthew's face lit up and he wrote 'announcement hijacker' for his name before writing the year in. That was something he could remember!

"Maaattttiieeee!"

Matthew sighed and finally looked over at Alfred, "What?"

"Help me out here!" Alfred pleaded, though gave no indication on what he wanted help with.

Matthew frowned slightly, "Help with what?"

Alfred pouted a second, apparently he had said already but Matthew hadn't heard him, "Ugh. I don't wanna say it again." He stretched his arms out over his desk and let his forehead hit the desktop.

"…" Matthew turned away, "Well then I guess you don't need help."

"Dude, I totally need help! I suck at poetry!"

Matthew looked at him startled, "Poetry? Poetry for what?"

Alfred's face reddened slightly, "It's for _who_. Not what."

"…You're writing someone a poem? Please tell me it's not something insulting to Cruz." Matthew looked at him with a suspicious glance.

"If I was asking you for help with that, I would totally just be asking you to hit me with something." Alfred laughed, completely ignoring the teacher, "I'm writing a poem for…uh…friend."

"Uh-huh." Matthew turned away again, "Well I'm sure your friend would appreciate the effort you put in yourself."

"I suck at writing these!"

"Why are you writing a poem to begin with?" Matthew tilted his head.

"Cuz I don't wanna say it." Alfred pouted once more.

"Say what?" Matthew looked even more confused.

Alfred's face reddened again and he hit his forehead to the desk once more.

"…" Matthew blinked a couple times, "Alfred…are you writing a love poem?" He leaned over slightly, trying to see the paper that Alfred was covering.

"No. I'm staring at a blank sheet of paper because I can't even write a simple poem." Alfred waved it around with a long sigh.

"…But you are trying to come up with a love poem." Matthew repeated.

"So what if I am! Gimme a break!" Alfred let out a long sigh.

"Ummm…well maybe try saying something that you like about them in the poem!" Matthew suggested lightly. _I wonder who the poem is to…hopefully Arthur maybe? Does Arthur even like poetry?_

"…" Alfred held out the blank piece of paper in front of him, "Uh… how about… 'your eyes are a nice green, unlike your brothers which are mean'?"

Matthew struggled very hard to keep a straight face, but the pain from holding in the laugh was greater than the desire to not get yelled at by the teacher, and he burst out laughing, doubling over the desk in front of him.

"Oh shut up!" Alfred snapped, his face now turning scarlet, "I get it, that was awful!"

"Can I help with something back here…" Mrs. Thompson came over, looking back and forth between the two.

"No." Alfred said quickly, "I'm good, thanks."

"I'm fine!" Matthew looked at her apologetically.

"Then please keep the side conversations on hold until after class, and try not to disrupt your classmates with any shenanigans." Mrs. Thompson headed back to the front of the room and began talking once more.

"Well let's hear you come up with something better!" Alfred hissed.

"Poetry contest…hmmm…" Matthew tilted his head, "Your heart lights me on fire, but to punch you in the face is still a desire!" He grinned broadly at Alfred, who just gaped at him in shock.

"Dude, I don't wanna punch him!" Alfred exclaimed quietly.

"That was my poem for somebody." Matthew said flatly. _I could have just said his name, it's not any secret from Alfred that I still like Cruz…_

"Oh this contest is on!" Alfred scrawled what he had on his paper so far and tapped the pencil against his chin, "Um…your younger brother is loud, but I'd hold your hand in a crowd?"

"You weren't joking. You are really bad at this. Stop insulting his family, geez!" Matthew sighed, "He's gonna get mad at you!"

"Well let's hear your next line then smarty!" Alfred cried.

"Um…" Matthew crossed his arms and tilted his head, trying to think of something, "You have your moments when you show feelings of love, but at times your cynicism clouds them from above!"

"At least I'm insulting the family and not the person I'm writing the poem to." Alfred said flatly.

"I think I'm doing pretty good." Matthew smiled cheerfully.

"I think you two can take your poetry contest to the office." Mrs. Thompson sighed, "Before you two get any farther with it." She motioned to the door.

"Yes ma'am." Matthew sighed, collecting his books. _Should have seen that one coming._

"I'm not done yet!" Alfred cried, but hurried after his brother out the door.

"Mr. Smith isn't gonna like the reason we're down there…" Matthew made a face.

Alfred grinned in response, "Does he ever? Okay, so next line… um… your feelings are a mystery to me, but my love for you I wanted you to see!"

"That line was better." Matthew nodded, "There are times when we constantly fight, and I'm worried a lot that our love took flight."

"Not on the plane…" Alfred sighed.

Matthew shook his head, "Took off without us."

"If our plane leaves without us, we can always just take the love bus!" Alfred looked so proud of himself that Matthew hated to point out that the line he had just said was beyond creepy.

_Whoever heard of a love bus…_ Matthew shook the image out of his head and sighed, "I know we said to each other goodbye, but I'm willing to start over, so this is my saying hi."

"That ending was brilliant!" Alfred clapped his hands together.

"Yours needed help." Matthew sighed, pushing the door to the office open.

"Did it really? What was wrong with it?" Alfred looked at him.

Roma looked at them from the secretary's desk, "Oh hello you two. What are you doing down here?"

"Mrs. Thompson doesn't like poetry." Alfred responded.

Matthew smiled apologetically, "To see the principal…"

Miss Kia let out a long sigh, "Why is it when something happens, it is always one of you…"

"He's not even in at the moment is he?" Roma questioned, "What poems were you reciting?"

"Something I was trying to come up with for Arthur." Alfred grinned.

_It was for him._ Matthew cheered inwardly, not that there had really been any doubt with the phrases Alfred had been coming up with.

"Oh, really? Lemme hear!" Roma perked up, looking all-too-excited.

"Huh, seriously?" Alfred looked at him startled.

"Go for it Alfred. Recite your award-winning poem." Matthew shook his head.

"I'm not sure about listening to this. I'm leaving." Miss Kia hastily exited the room.

Roma watched the female's quick departure before looking back to Alfred with a curious gaze.

"Okay, so no laughing," Alfred warned.

"Promise!" Roma smiled cheerfully.

"Your eyes are a nice green, unlike your brothers' which are mean. Your younger brother is loud, but I'd hold your hand in a crowd…"

Matthew watched Roma's facial expression change to that of someone trying to suppress laughter. _He's having the same reaction as me…_

"Your feelings are a mystery to me, but my love for you I wanted you to see. And if our plane takes off without us, we can always just take the love bus!"Alfred finished.

"Is there even such a thing."

Matthew turned to see the principal in the doorway, "Oh hello. I guess there's no real reason to say why we're down here."

"Not with that brilliant display of poetry." Mr. Smith sighed, "Alfred, that poem needs work before you recite it to anyone."

Roma burst out laughing, "I thought it was pretty good!"

"Well at least one person likes it!" Alfred cried.

"I was just questioning your insulting his family in it…" Matthew sighed.

"You were insulting the guy you were writing it for." Alfred sulked.

"Oh you have one, too?" Roma leaned over to look at Matthew.

"No more poetry recitals please." Mr. Smith glared at the three.

.

.

* * *

I know it's not all that long, but hopefully the crap poetry makes up for the shortness. XD


	8. I'm sorry everyone!

I didn't realize until now, but there's a lot of people in this lunch. Oh well. Some of them are skipping.

* * *

.

.

Matthew sat at the lunch table, watching Alfred happily chow down on the burgers on his plate. Somehow he had convinced the lunch lady into letting him have extras, so the taller blonde was more than set for the rest of the day food-wise. Matthew on the other hand, only had a salad on his plate, most of which was still in the bowl.

The phones lay in the middle of the table, now ignored since the conversation had steered away from the poetry class. It was still hard to believe that the teacher had changed it for the next class and sent them to the office.

Matthew looked up the table at where Ardrich was sitting across from Elizaveta, the two engaged in some conversation that he couldn't hear from where he was sitting. It seemed rather quiet with just the five of them (Feliciano was sitting next to Elizaveta, just listening to whatever was being said). But maybe he was distancing himself from the others.

Alfred seemed to notice because he tapped his straw wrapper on Matthew's tray, "Eat your salad!"

"Eh, I'll pass. The lettuce isn't all that fresh." Matthew shrugged.

"…burger?" Alfred offered one to him, which surprised Matthew greatly.

"No. Thanks." Matthew shook his head, "It's fine, I can eat when I get home. My mind is elsewhere."

"Yeah, I can tell." Alfred frowned and continued eating, though now his eyes were on his brother.

"…" Matthew looked back at his phone, "Hey…maybe you should try messaging Arthur."

"What for?" Alfred blinked, looking at the phone as well.

"I think Roderich's comment was concerning him." Matthew motioned to the updates, "Because it's the only person I can think of that would be happy and upset about Allistor leaving for college."

"Hmmm…" Alfred frowned, "True…sounds like Allistor is leaving really soon, too."

"…" Matthew's shoulders dropped slightly, "…I hope he's going to be okay…"

Alfred paused mid-bite to pick up his cell phone and hastily start typing out on it.

"Alfred! Make sure that's only to Arthur!" Matthew panicked, "Don't just status message everyone!"

"I am, I am!" Alfred said, voice coming out muffled through the burger he was holding in his mouth.

"Heeey!"

Matthew looked up to Elizaveta, "Eh?"

"What's Roderich talking about?" She motioned to the phone, "Does anyone know?"

Matthew just shook his head, "No, sorry. I don't even know what class he has."

"Ve! I hope everything is okay!" Feliciano exclaimed, while Ardrich just nodded in silence.

Matthew's eyes locked with Alfred for a minute, both of them waiting (and hoping) that a response would come across.

"Maybe he went to see Roma…" Alfred said quietly.

_It's really easy to tell when Alfred is worried… he stops eating._ Matthew frowned, "You have no idea how much you mean to me, it's nothing more than your smile I want to see."

Alfred's face lit up, "Mattie, that was awesome!"

"That one was for your poem." Matthew sighed.

Alfred took out the folded piece of paper and a pen and hastily scrawled the line down, "Got it!"

"I hope someday you read that to him." Matthew sighed.

"Someday…" Alfred sighed.

Matthew stabbed his salad with his fork a few times before looking back at the phone. Silent once more. Not even Gilbert or Roderich were saying anything.

"I wonder what poem Gilbert is writing…" Alfred ate a few a bites before putting the hamburger back down.

"Yeah…" Matthew sighed.

"Excuse me."

Matthew looked up at the principal, "Eh? Yes?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Alfred blanked, "Huh?"

"Not you, Alfred. Just your brother." Mr. Smith shook his head.

Matthew stood up questioningly and followed Mr. Smith to a couple students (including Peter much to his surprise) in the corner of the cafeteria.

Peter looked like he wanted to do nothing more than _run_ out of the room.

"These students are going to be participating in the Project for Change, much like you did in your sophomore year."

"Good luck to you all." Matthew said flatly.

"I was hoping you could tell them a little of what to expect." Mr. Smith sighed.

"Do you mean the emergency vehicle ride or the classes?" Matthew crossed his arms.

"Both ideally." Mr. Smith waved them out of the cafeteria, leading them down the hall.

_Sorry Alfred…I can't be of any more help right now…_ Matthew looked at the three heads that he was walking beside. _Is Peter participating in this really a good idea?_

"We didn't do this last year simply because the staff was providing more difficulties than the students themselves, but it seems this year we have quite a few problems among students. There will be students in your grade participating as well." Mr. Smith looked at Matthew.

"Oh…okay." Matthew nodded, "Not the same people I would hope."

"No." Mr. Smith shook his head, "Though Mr. Carriedo will be joining these three."

"That part I can agree with." Matthew let out a soft sigh, "He's definitely having problems this year."

"Undoubtedly. Some of which I have become aware of just today in the last few hours." Mr. Smith looked at the three freshmen, then back at Matthew, "So if you could fill them in on what to expect. I would appreciate it. I assume there is no reason to tell you not to tell anyone else of this."

"No reason at all." Matthew smiled as he left the room, "Okay…so did he explain anything?"

"Just that people would think we were dead." Peter said flatly, "I have to do the same thing Arthur did?"

"Apparently… okay, so… I'm not sure when this is starting but… you're probably going to have to write a letter of goodbye like we did a couple years ago, so you might want to start thinking about what you're putting for that…" Matthew leaned against the lone table in the room.

"A letter…of goodbye."

"Mhm." Matthew glanced at Peter's female classmate, "Last words so to speak. Your suicide note."

"…I'm Sandra and I leave this world for a better place. There's my note." She let out a forced laugh before hanging her head.

"…" Matthew let out a long sigh, "I think he's going to require something longer than that. Try addressing family members or friends, or people who upset you. Something." _Lovino and Cruz. They're not going to be okay with this. But I can't say anything. Crap._

While the three nodded in silence, Matthew noticed their faces now seemed to resemble each other in terms of having gone completely pale. _They're panicking already._ "The fun part of this is going to be the transport in my honest opinion. First of all, let me tell you, if you get the casket ride, it's going to be bumpy."

"We get to ride in a casket?" Peter looked amazed, the other two looked horrified.

"I did. On the way out, I rode in a casket, I believe there was also an ambulance ride. It was one of the two for the four of us." Matthew tilted his head slightly, "The classes there leave a little to be desired. They're going to be talking to you about expressing yourselves more. Oh, and I will be nice." He held up both hands in front of him, "The lunches."

"Huh?" Peter's male classmate's face went blank.

"Read everything on the packaging before you eat it. Otherwise you will end up drinking a bottle of gravy that was otherwise meant for your meal."

Sandra looked even more horrified, "This place sounds awful!"

"Ahahaha, I remember that part of the speech!" Peter laughed.

"The beds there, are also crap. You know when the person above you is tossing and turning. So if you don't lie still, expect there to be a grumpy bedmate the next morning."

"…" Peter glanced over at his friend, "Hey, Stephen, I'm not sharing a bed with you."

"Shut up!" Stephen's face went red.

Sandra rubbed the back of her head.

"I'm sure females will be in a different room. It was just the four males that went in my group, but there may be upperclassmen females you'll be rooming with." Matthew smiled cheerfully.

Sandra perked up at that, "Oh great! I hope it's someone I'll get along with!"

"Try not to fall asleep during the classes either. Some of them may be a bit…odd, but they are there to try and help, whether you believe it or not when you get there." Matthew sighed, "As for the ride back, repeat the same casket, ambulance ride, and then you get to stay overnight in a hospital. At least we did."

"Oh, that sounds fun…" Stephen looked thoughtful.

"And then comes the speech." Matthew said flatly, "The long speech. That you have to give in front of everybody."

"What." Sandra stared at him in shock.

"About your doing the mission for change." Matthew smiled cheerfully, "I wish you luck with that. We just made up the whole thing as we went."

"It was pretty funny though." Peter grinned.

"And all of our friends knew who we were before we were done." Matthew's face reddened, "That was so embarrassing!"

"I don't think I'm gonna like this." Sandra whispered.

"We're in this together!" Peter patted Sandra on the back.

Mr. Smith re-entered at that point, "By the way, Matthew, if it's not too much trouble, could you also explain to the others?"

"Eh? Sure. But wouldn't someone else be better for this?" Matthew blinked at him.

"Well I'd ask Roma since he was a counselor there…but…" Mr. Smith let out a long sigh, "He's otherwise engaged."

"…" Matthew tilted his head.

"Distracting one of my teachers." Mr. Smith scowled and stalked out of the room, "I'll set up a time for you to meet with the other students, expect to be called down later!"

"…okay." Matthew looked confused, "Distracting a teacher?"

.

.

* * *

That was fun.


	9. But why does it have to be me!

Classes are getting rather repetitive by this point… Excuse the time skip.

* * *

.

.

Matthew leaned against the wall outside, hoping that he would see Antonio before he started heading home for the day. The other male hadn't mentioned anything at all earlier about the Project for Change. _Either the principal didn't tell him or he just didn't want to say it… how am I supposed to keep my mouth shut? Am I going, too?_ Matthew turned and started hitting his head on the wall. He'd really rather _not_.

Last two classes had proved to be completely energy-draining on top of everything else he was stressing out about. Nobody in his cooking class, and though he did have Roderich in Psychology, he could have done without the abomination of a textbook. _I wonder where Antonio is…he's taking a long time._ Matthew bit his lip and continued waiting, even as most of the crowd dispersed off to the buses, parking lots, or down the sidewalks.

A car came flying around the corner and sped by where he was standing, Matthew couldn't even tell who was in it with how fast it had been moving. _…I hope they get wherever they're going safely._ Matthew sighed and winced as brakes screeched a minute later. There was no crashing sound at least. He shook his head and turned to peer back in the schoolyard, and found Antonio walking towards the entrance, "Ah."

"Hm? Were you waiting?" Antonio blinked at him in surprise.

"Yeah, I actually wanted to ask you a question…" Matthew started to speak up.

"And while we're all present." Mr. Smith interrupted, "Can we talk inside?"

"Eh." Matthew looked up at him startled.

Antonio gave him a look that matched Matthew's, "Huh? About what?"

.

.

Matthew sat in the office, leaning forward slightly to look around Antonio at Peter, Sandra and Stephen. He sat back straight again. _Terrific. This could not possibly go well._

"You three," Mr. Smith looked at the freshmen, "Volunteered for our Project for Change this year. Since our seniors do have some experience with it, I ask Matthew to accompany you three along to the facility."

"Oh goody." Matthew slumped in his seat, "I have to go back to that place…"

Antonio looked from Peter to Matthew, "…It's happening again?"

_That answered my question on whether or not the principal had told him._ Matthew let out a quiet sigh.

"It is. And you will be going as well." Mr. Smith said flatly.

"What?" Antonio gaped at him, "Why do I have to?"

"You really don't want me to answer that." Mr. Smith responded, waving a paper around with one hand, "So now, just so you all know, it will _not_ be just you five."

"It's not?" Peter blinked, "I thought it was!"

"I am debating whether or not to add one more senior who's showing some cause for concern." Mr. Smith looked at the paper he was holding, ignoring the looks on the teenagers' faces in front of him.

"Cause for concern…" Antonio whispered.

"I didn't say a word." Matthew responded, "Well anyway, you're going to be notifying parents ahead of time like last time right?"

"Some details of this project are still under works."

Peter leaned forward to look at Matthew for a minute before looking back towards Mr. Smith, "Uh, you kinda have to notify our parents, don't you? I mean, if they think we're dead, isn't that going to pose a problem with coming back?"

Mr. Smith leaned back in his chair and stared off towards the windows, leaving the paper he had been intently gazing at to lay on his desk, "If some of the students involved are having problems with their parents… in that case it would be better to not say anything."

"But those that aren't having problems, you can tell them!" Matthew spoke up, "And what about siblings? Are they going to be kept in the dark like last time?"

"Haven't decided on that yet." Mr. Smith made a face, "I'd rather not have a repeat of the catastrophes of the school board assault however."

_Does that mean he will tell them?_ Matthew frowned slightly.

"In any case, as more details come, I will let the five of you know." Mr. Smith pushed his chair away from the desk and stood up, "There have been some changes going around for the sake of the project continuing to move on from class to class."

"…So this is always going to happen?" Peter made a face.

"I'll probably switch the grades involved from year to year." Mr. Smith commented.

.

.

Matthew left the schoolyard with Antonio and Peter, all of them remaining silent until they came to the corner where Peter would usually head left.

"So…now what? I guess I shouldn't say anything to anybody at home. But I kinda mentioned it to Arthur during lunch already." Peter looked at Matthew and Antonio with a lost expression, "I mean, Allistor's leaving for college soon right? So what's mom and dad going to tell him?"

"…I would just leave things the way they are for right now." Matthew sighed, "The principal can't keep our parents in the dark for the entirety, it would cause major upset I think."

"I didn't want to go…" Antonio hung his head with a heavy sigh, "Now I have another problem."

Matthew patted him on the shoulder in comfort, "Well at least for this one, you don't really have anything to do until we get where we're going. We'll just have to stick together once we're there!"

Peter nodded, "I should get going then. Mom and dad are probably home by this point." He was looking off towards the sky, turning colors from the sunset, "We were in there a while."

"Oh man." Antonio panicked, "I have to get going, they're going to wonder where I am!"

"See you tomorrow." Matthew waved as the other two took off. He headed home at a slower pace, wondering if Alfred had gone straight home or if he had made a detour with Arthur. _I wonder if he gave him the poem yet…_

_What's going to happen with Antonio's parents once we leave? I know Cruz is staying there until school is over… but is he even going to stay if he thinks Antonio is gone?_ Matthew paused to glance upwards for a few minutes before quickening his pace towards his home. _Worrying about it isn't going to change a thing!_

.

.

Matthew pushed open his front door with a heavy sigh. This school year was certainly starting out to be interesting. _Was this really the first day? It feels like I've been there for a lot longer…_ He walked by the living room, leaning back slightly to discover that Alfred was nowhere in sight. _…I guess he went somewhere else…_ Matthew shrugged and headed up the stairs, moving into his bedroom and shutting the door behind him.

Flumping down on his bed, Matthew rolled onto his back and hugged his pillow tightly, staring up at the ceiling through his glasses. _We're going to be okay… so will everyone at school. They have each other for support this year. They'll be okay…_ Matthew glanced towards his computer for a minute before rolling away from it.

Signing on to talk to people was the last thing he wanted to do right now. _I can't say anything about it to anyone. Best way to avoid doing that is to not say a word. At least for the moment._ Matthew faced the wall while thinking over what the principal had told them. More detailed information would come soon, they were just waiting for clearance from the facility before they would remove the students from school. _ I wonder how we're leaving this time… it can't be a mass suicide like last time… that would be rather obvious!_

Giving up on trying to figure out the principal's rather startling-announcement, Matthew closed his eyes and tried to sleep instead. At least going along meant Antonio would have company. _Hopefully Cruz will actually be semi-helpful and be a support for Lovino. Please._ _He's not really an emotional kind of guy though…_ Matthew ignored the thought at the back of his head that Cruz might leave while they were gone. _Please let things work out._

.

.

* * *

Yeah this is short. Sorry.


	10. Hello future!

Can't remember if I said this before so, you may notice the occasional day/week-timeskip. This is an effort to keep things moving along without having the repetitiveness of school days. :)

_Date is currently September 23 (about three weeks in between the last chapter and this one)_

* * *

.

.

Matthew watched Antonio in honest interest while they sat in the classroom. Mrs. Starr had informed them that since this was their senior year, they should begin, if they haven't already, deciding on what career path they wanted to join in the future. Matthew had already decided his before ever stepping into the classroom, so at least it was an easy assignment for him.

Antonio on the other hand… "I have no idea what I'm doing!" Antonio cried, holding his head in his hands, "How am I supposed to decide something like this?"

"Eh…it's not like it's set in stone… you can always change it later if you decide to not go through with it." Matthew tilted his head, "How about your strongsuits in school? What subjects are you best in?"

Antonio frowned for a moment, "Um…I suppose I was doing fairly well in science, at least before last year…"

"What kind of science was it? Plant science? Human science?"

"…We kinda covered both." Antonio rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "This really isn't helping!"

Matthew tapped a pencil on the desktop they were sharing for a moment, "What about that health class that we had in the ninth grade?"

"Completely easy." Antonio smiled cheerfully, "Easiest class of the year!"

"Maybe something in a medical field then?" Matthew suggested, "Or you could always attempt to be a teacher in one of those subjects."

"I don't think me as a teacher would work out very well…" Antonio sighed, "I'm kinda… not teacher material. Teachers have to be strict with students right?"

"Not all of them are." Matthew leaned back in his chair, "Miss Summers certainly isn't. I suppose as long as you can keep control of the classroom, anyone can really become a teacher."

"Hm…" Antonio looked down at the paper, "That's a lot of college though…"

"I know the feeling." Matthew laid his head down on the desk, "I don't even know how to go about looking for colleges. I can't believe they want us to do this now!"

"Yeah…last year's seniors didn't have to do all this…" Antonio frowned again, "Why is senior year stressing so much on our future… I mean, I guess I do know why, but why wait until now? Why not do it in prior years?"

"I guess the teachers just weren't around then…" Matthew looked at his own paper, where the blank for colleges remained empty, "I'm going to have to research this a bit…" _Maybe I can ask Roma where he went to college…_

Antonio nodded in silent agreement and they sat in silence, both of them staring at the papers in front of them. _What the heck am I going to do? And if I do become a teacher, what school would I go to?_

* * *

.

.

"We're joining up with the history class from first bell! That's totally Arthur's class!" Alfred was bouncing up and down in his seat in excitement.

"…" Matthew watched his energetic brother and shook his head, "It's still two weeks from now…"

"Oh come on Mattie! Be excited! A local museum has gotta be packed full of interesting stuff!" Alfred's eyes sparkled, "I can't wait for this!"

"I can see that." Matthew turned his gaze towards the window.

"What's up?" Alfred leaned forward so he could obstruct Matthew's vision, if only a little.

"Nothing. I'm just thinking of a homework assignment." Matthew frowned momentarily, "Hey Alfred, what career path are you going for after school?"

"Huh?" Alfred's face blanked, "Career? Uh…" He looked upwards towards the ceiling with a frown on his face, "Man, I haven't even thought about it!"

"You like sports though…maybe you should look for something in that field. Or a video game tester or designer…"

Alfred's face lit up, "Testing video games would be so awesome!"

_I should have known he would go for that._ Matthew smiled, "You're so predictable."

"I wonder how I would go about even attempting that though…like is there a college for that?" Alfred frowned again, "Do I just apply at a video game company or something?"

"…You would probably have to do some searching up on that, Alfred."

"Yeah…" Alfred sighed, "Oh well! It's nice to have a goal in mind!"

_Even if you hadn't even thought about it up until now? Obviously you weren't worried about it!_ Matthew looked out the window once more. Roma would know about colleges for someone who wanted to be a guidance counselor… _I'm definitely asking him before I search online for one._

* * *

.

.

Matthew followed along behind Feliciano in the cafeteria, while the Italian kept on talking about the cooking 102 class he was in. Apparently the other male was doing really well in it, and Miss Summers suggested he might be suitable for a cooking career.

"I can have my own restaurant maybe!" Feliciano's eyes sparkled, "I think something like this could really work!"

"Running a restaurant is a lot of work though…" Matthew tilted his head, "Not to mention having to hire other people you know you can work with…"

Feliciano thought about this for a moment before nodding his head, "But determination will see it through! It'll probably start out small anyway, so I'd only need a couple other people besides me. Maybe Elizaveta will help out since she's waitressing right now anyway!"

"I'm sure if you offered her a partner position she'd see it as a full-career opportunity." Matthew smiled.

"You really think so?" Feliciano got even more excited, something Matthew hadn't quite thought was possible at the moment, "Maybe she can help me as the restaurant grows then!"

_He's really looking into the future. He already sees it as a success._ Matthew watched him in disbelief. _Well…I suppose if he's that confident in it…_ He picked up a tray and followed Feliciano to the table near the corner of the room.

"Maybe since Ardrich is dating Elizaveta he'd wanna help out, too!"

"Just don't let him near the kitchen." Matthew sighed.

"Waiter maybe?" Feliciano tilted his head as they approached the table, "Or maybe he can be in charge of them? Oh I'd need a maintenance guy, too. I wonder if Ardrich likes cleaning…"

"Y-you'd have to ask him that one." Matthew grew uncertain of the career option for Ardrich, "I'm not sure he'd want to mop the floor for the rest of his life."

"It'd only be until things expanded. Once we can hire more people, other people can do the cleaning and Ardrich can supervise! He'd have the experience then to know if they're doing the job right!" Feliciano sat at the table, next to Elizaveta, and started stirring the pasta he had gotten.

"That would work then." Matthew agreed.

"I'm so excited! This school year really seems to be better than the last few!" Feliciano took a big bite of his lunch and smiled cheerfully.

_Somebody's future is all lined up already. Must be nice…_ Matthew took a bite of salad and watched Lovino and Cruz out of the corner of his eye. He hadn't spoken to them much, Cruz even less than Lovino, since the beginning of the school year. _There's just this air of tension there now…_

Noticing Cruz seemed to be making a gagging face about something, Matthew raised an eyebrow in confusion, as Lovino found Cruz's reaction funny. Surprisingly it didn't bother him as much as before when he saw the two talking to each other in lowered tones (actually Matthew had the distinct impression it had something to do with Ardrich and Elizaveta sitting across from them).

_This means Cruz should be able to help out Lovino when Antonio and I leave. Things might be looking up this year after all!_ Matthew relaxed in his seat and continued eating.

* * *

.

.

The principal hadn't told him anything else regarding the P.F.C. yet, and Matthew began wondering if he was doing that on purpose. _He might not want to disclose anything and risk one of us letting it slip to other people… I'd still like to know how he's getting away without telling our parents though._

Matthew made his way home slowly. He hadn't been able to find Roma after school, apparently the adult had left in a hurry for some reason. _I can just send him a message online._ Pausing by the ice cream stand in the park, Matthew took a bowl of the seasonal treat and wandered away again.

_Pumpkin pie ice cream really isn't that bad once you get used to it._ Matthew munched on a spoonful before someone tapped him on the shoulder, "Eh?"

"Hello!" Roma waved cheerfully, "Mind if we talk a minute?"

Matthew tilted his head in confusion, but followed him over to a park bench.

"Everything went through as far as enrolling all of you in the guidance facility." Roma started, "So departure isn't going to be that far from now."

Matthew paused, holding the spoon in his mouth, "When is it?"

"Probably next week." Roma dropped his voice a bit, "I am going to be coming along, so at least you all will have one familiar teacher!"

Matthew smiled and continued eating, "And someone will be able to warn people about the food in the lunch hall."

"Yes, well." Roma laughed, "That can't be helped." He winked at Matthew and stared across the park.

"…Eh." Matthew looked at Roma, "Wait, what about Lovino's parents? Are they going to think you're gone, too?"

"Uh…" Roma tilted his head, "That's kind of a… gray area."

"I am staying far away from you when we come back. You're going to get hit on the head." Matthew whispered.

"Undoubtedly." Roma laughed, "Can't be helped. Living at their house is a little risky if I know where all of you are."

"True…" Matthew watched as students mingled by on the path, "Next week, huh… guess I'm not going on that field trip in two weeks then. Alfred and Arthur can have time by themselves…"

"Field trip?" Roma looked at him interested, "Where to?"

"Local museum." Matthew scraped the edges of his bowl with the spoon, "They're more of a put-me-to-sleep thing than anything else. Alfred's really excited about it though."

Roma leaned back against the table, "Hm…I hope he doesn't punch a wall again…"

Matthew froze, the spoon a couple inches from his mouth, "I'd rather he didn't. I don't want him in the hospital again."

"Hopefully friends will stick closer together this year…"

"…are you also holding out hope they won't pull the school's largest prank in history on the school board?" Matthew giggled.

Roma let out a long sigh, "Don't jinx it. The principal has enough gray hairs."

.

.

* * *

Little short…still turned out all right. :)


	11. This is not real life

:D … So to you people just favoriting and signing up for the story alerts, I'd love to have a review from you all, too :D They make me happy and give me feedback for upcoming chapters. :) Help a writer out, would you? C:

* * *

.

.

_"Are you sure you don't want to drive?"_

Lights went in and out of his vision as Matthew tried to stay awake. There was a loud siren nearby and he couldn't quite tell what type of vehicle it belonged to. He wasn't even quite sure what had happened. One minute he was walking and the next everything was spinning out of control.

_"Think of it as experience for your driving test!"_

He knew the car was going too fast. He knew it before he even saw the red light, but he couldn't help it. The feeling of just wanting to get away from there was controlling the car. No one even said a word about how fast it was going, they were just talking as if nothing was wrong, like they weren't even aware of it. Roma was the only one watching the road. It was a little obvious there was some concern on his face, but he didn't speak up.

_He should have let Roma drive. Should have thought of some stupid excuse to get the adult to take the wheel. Maybe now they wouldn't be stuck like this. He wouldn't have to see that face…_

Antonio had taken the corner without slowing down, causing a loud screech as he left marks in the pavement and kept on going. Roma still didn't say anything. The red light was coming up now. He could see it was red, but… it didn't even register in the driver's head.

_Matthew had stepped out into the street and started walking. He had the walk signal… it never even occurred to him that the car wouldn't stop. Not until it was nearly right beside him._

Antonio had hit the brakes too late, and left a trailing black mark from the tires on the road behind them. The sounds from the car turned into complete silence, even though he knew the three in the backseat were screaming, all Antonio could see was the look of surprise on his friend's face… before the car hit. After the car hit, Antonio had no clue where Matthew was, and the only thing he saw was the other car in the middle of the intersection.

_He had never heard Roma yell like that. The adult was holding onto the door handle with one hand while his other hand grabbed at Antonio's arm, but the car was beyond stopping. The brakes weren't working for some reason. Was he not pressing on it?_

Antonio stared upwards towards the sky. What had just happened? The clouds were spinning around in a funny circle, and he couldn't move his arms or legs. Antonio tried to turn his head but found he couldn't move and tried instead to see around him. He was on the road…on a stretcher?

_He could see them putting somebody in the back of an ambulance. There were firefighters and ambulance crewmen running around the two vehicles. No one came over to him. Was he already gone? Was this just the afterlife? He was seeing the results of what he had done?_

Antonio wished he could cry. He never should have got in the driver's seat. He should have begged Roma to drive. This wouldn't have happened. He couldn't even see Matthew. Had they already taken him somewhere?

_He spied Roma being lifted up on a gurney. He wasn't moving at all. …And they were covering him with a white sheet… oh god. This really is a nightmare._

This couldn't be happening. He did not just get everyone killed because of his stupid driving. _Please let me rewind time. Somehow. Let someone else drive. I don't care who. Just don't let me get in that seat!_

There were two people lifting him up now. They slid the stretcher onto a gurney identical to the one that had carried Roma and started moving him. He didn't know where they were pushing him to. But he supposed it didn't much matter, because now he was the one seeing a white sheet, and nothing would move to tell them he was still conscious.

_Maybe I really am dead. Why do I have to see this? Can't I just move on?_

What about everyone still at the school? What were they going to think? Is this the last thing they would remember of us? His parents… Peter's parents… Arthur… oh geez. Arthur. Not to mention Reilly and Allistor. All their families… what was Alexander going to think? Antonio had taken his dad with him…

_I'm sorry._

He couldn't see anything but white around him now. He wished he could yank it off and just leave this place behind. Run as fast as he could away, maybe he could pretend it never happened. But this was the end, wasn't it? …I just want to apologize.

_Please. If you tell them anything… tell them I'm sorry._

Antonio saw the blanket move slightly with a slight jerk. The vehicle he was in must be moving. To the hospital maybe? What's the point of taking a bunch of dead people to the hospital? Maybe not everyone was dead? Hopefully not. Please let someone live. Please let someone live. Let at least one person live. Even if they had to spend a long time in the hospital. Let someone survive that accident!

_There's no way Matthew survived that. Why didn't I hit the brakes sooner? The car wasn't responding… was it going too fast? Of course it was going too fast… way too fast for going through town. What was I thinking… I just wanted to get away...  
_

What was going to happen now? What were his friends going to do? Please let Lovino be okay. _I'm sorry, Lovi…_ Please… someone stay with Lovino… someone stay near him. Someone tell him I'm sorry!

_Somebody… if someone can hear me… tell them I'm sorry._

_…_

_…_

_I'm so sorry._


End file.
